First Immortal of the Sword

Outside the Chaos Pool.

The Divine Replenishment Furnace expanded to one hundred thousand feet tall, billowing with purple light as it refined the trophies it had gathered from throughout the surrounding area.

From a distance, it was like a towering, majestic mountain, and it rumbled and boomed without end, all the while spurting misty light.

“We’re leaving.” Su Yi beckoned to it and headed for the exit.

The Divine Replenishment Furnace instantly shrank from one hundred thousand feet to the size of a fist and hurried after him, listing all the trophies it had found.

Gradually, the two of them faded from view.

...

Outside the Ancestral Demon Grounds, before the massive lake of chaos. Heaven and earth were overcast. All was silent.

When Su Yi emerged, he was unwittingly stunned.

He wasn’t sure when they’d gotten there, but around thirty people were kneeling outside the exit. From their auras and appearances, it was obvious that these were the Demon Sovereigns of the Nine Great Demon Races.

But now, their heads and all four limbs were in the dirt, and none dared move without permission.

The sight of so many kneeling Sovereigns was startling to behold.

When they saw Su Yi emerge, their leader, a thin old man with long, loose hair said in a quavering voice. “The sinners of the Nine Great Demon Races kneel in penance before you, Sovereign Venerate Su!”

“We kneel in penance!” the others chorused. Their voices cleaved through the cloudy dome of heaven, but their heads were still in the dirt. They dared not raise their heads to look at him.

“Penance?” Su Yi said thoughtfully. “Do the Nine Great Demon Races plan to submit to me?”

“Yes,” the old man said bitterly, quivering as he spoke. “We know we’ve sinned deeply, but we no longer dare to oppose you, Sovereign Venerate Su! Whether you spare us or not, we hope you’ll factor the Nine Great Demon Races’ sincerity into whatever decisions you make next.”

Su Yi nodded. He was actually curious to see what the Nine Great Demon Races were up to this time.

The gaunt old man rose, took a scroll painting out of his sleeves, and unfurled it in the air.

Whoosh!

The painting instantly expanded, covering one hundred thousand feet. Inside was a landscape with mountains, rivers, and cycling celestial bodies. Over one million figures were scattered throughout the painting.

“Sovereign Venerate Su, this is the Thousand Hidden Mountains Painting. The experts inside are all fellow Daoists of the Immortal Realm we brought back to the Spirit Domain during the Age of Fallen Immortals.”

As if afraid he’d provoke Su Yi, the old man explained with the utmost modesty and politeness, “All of them are alive and well, and we’ve already removed the seals from their bodies. When you leave the Spirit Domain, you can take these fellow Daoists back with you.”

Su Yi gazed intently at the painting, his brow furrowed.

During the Age of Fallen Immortals, a cataclysm befell the world. The Nine Great Demon Races seized advantage of the chaos to plunder the Immortal Realm.

Su Yi knew that full well, but he didn’t realize that they’d taken over a million experts of the Immortal Realm hostage during those years of darkness!

“This is your sincerity?” asked Su Yi.

“Oh, no,” the old man said hurriedly. “That’s just part of it.”

He then took out a decree and proffered it with both hands. “This is a contract written in the true blood of the Nine Progenitors. It contains the source imprints of we Demon Sovereigns. Please have a long, Sovereign Venerate Su.”

Su Yi took it, and after examining it, discovered that it was exactly as the old man said. This jointly formulated contract represented the entire Spirit Domain in submitting to Su Yi! He could sense the numerous source imprints within the treaty.

It guaranteed that, so long as the Nine Great Demon Races reigned, the demons would never again oppose the Immortal Realm. Moreover, it guaranteed that if they violated this treaty, everyone in the Nine Great Demon Races would die!

But after looking it over, he nonetheless shook his head.

The old man’s expression shifted, and he said nervously, “Sovereign Venerate Su, do you think our sincerity is insufficient?”

“I don’t care whether you truly wish to submit or whether you simply wish to live on even in degradation,” said Su Yi. "I’ve never trusted treaties and oaths."

Thud!

The old man prostrated himself once more and cried out in terror, “After this catastrophe, how could we not understand how mighty of an existence you are, Sovereign Venerate Su? We’ve given up all thoughts of vengeance, and we earnestly beg for your compassion. Please, leave us a path to survival!” As he spoke, he lowered his head into the dirt.

Su Yi said calmly, “Even assuming I spare you, do you really think there will be any place for the Nine Great Demon Races in the Spirit Realm after this?”

The old man froze. His eyes dulled.

When a whale died, it nourished the rest of the ocean. When a dragon perished, it became a feast for the wolves.

The Nine Great Demon Races had suffered massive casualties. Practically all of their top experts had been destroyed. Both their prestige and their military might were weaker than ever before. Thus, the Spirit Domain’s other factions had long since started sharpening their knives. They were eager to cast stones at those who’d fallen down a well and itching to loot a burning house!

Su Yi could tell that the old man understood what he was getting at: the Spirit Domain’s other factions were sure to pull the Nine Great Demon races up by the roots to prevent them from recovering.

The old man let out a deep sigh. “Sovereign Venerate Su, all we ask is that you spare our lives. As for whether or not we survive the days to come…. We’ll just have to do our utmost and leave the rest up to fate.”

“Oh,” said Su Yi. He stretched out his hand, and the Thousand Hidden Mountains Painting blurred into a beam of light and landed in his outstretched palm.

“I accept your sincerity,” said Su Yi. “You’ll have to look out for yourselves going forward.”

With that, he pressed off against the ground.

Boom——！

A moment later, the Ancestral Demon Grounds crumbled to the ground.

This was a hidden realm that had existed for countless years, the most forbidden, sacred grounds in the Spirit Domain, and the roots of the Nine Great Demon Races! The Spirit Domain’s cultivators saw it as a supreme, lofty, holy ground.

Yet now, Su Yi had destroyed it completely!

The Demon Sovereigns froze, stunned, their hopes turning to ash. Indescribable grief and despondency filled their chests.

They said a falling leaf returned to its roots, but what happened when its roots were destroyed? How could leaves continue to exist?

Su Yi took in their expressions and said, “I actually rather hope to see the Nine Great Demon Races return to prominence. Take care.”

He rose, then soared off. It was only after he left that the Demon Sovereigns reacted as if awakening from a dream. All of them climbed to their feet with complicated looks on their faces, and they stood there in a dazed silence.

It might have seemed that they’d escaped with their lives, and indeed, they’d been left with a thread of hope of survival.

But… They knew that more and more disasters were soon to befall them. Who would dare say with certainty that the Nine Great Demon Races wouldn’t fall even further?

“What did Sovereign Venerate Su mean by that? He… hopes we can return to prominence?” someone couldn’t help but ask.

The others frowned. They found it hard to understand too.

But the gaunt old man vaguely understood. He sighed. “The Immortal Realm needs enemies, and we of the Spirit Domain can serve as their whetstones! It’s just… in our current state, we aren’t even worth using as whetstones.”

Whetstones!

A highly humiliating descriptor.

But the demons couldn’t be angry. All they felt was despondency and melancholy. How could they not understand that the Spirit Domain wouldn’t be able to threaten the Immortal Realm going forward?

They could, at best, hope to become its whetstones!

“In his shoes, I’m afraid I could never have let this go, nor could I have said anything like that…” someone murmured.

The others nodded. Su Yi hadn’t rushed to kill them all, and he disdained using that decree to ensure their good behavior. The demons could have searched everything beneath the heavens without finding anyone else with such spirit.

Even if they were unwilling, they had no choice but to admit that Su Yi’s breadth of spirit was like the sun and moon shining overhead, enough to illuminate the starry skies!

……

The Sky-Carrying Boat carried Su Yi toward the borders of the Spirit Domain.

The Divine Replenishment Furnace still didn’t understand his decision. “Your Excellency, why did you spare them?”

“Time changes everything it touches. If I destroy the Nine Great Demon Races now, who’s to say that similar factions won’t arise in the Spirit Domain down the line?” Su Yi sprawled out comfortably on deck and said distractedly, “The only way to avoid that is to kill every single person in the Spirit Domain.”

The Divine Replenishment Furnace hurriedly said, “And you disdain to do so.”

Su Yi said with a self-deprecating chuckle, “No, that’s not it. It’s that they didn’t hurt any of those closest to me. If they had, I might well have. In that regard, I’m quite selfish. I’m nothing like those saints who think only of the greater good.”

“You’re too modest, Your Excellency. If not for your intervention, who knows how much bloodshed would have befallen the Immortal Realm? You’re its true savior, the one who saved the masses!” sighed the Divine Replenishment Furnace. It, of course, didn’t forget to seize an opportunity to flatter him.

Su Yi said calmly, “I can protect the Immortal Realm for a time, but I can’t protect it for my entire lifetime. When I protect the masses, they honor me as if I were a god, but would you believe me if I said that the moment I cease to fight for them, they’ll turn on me and curse my very name?”

“....”

“I haven’t returned to the Immortal Realm since the fighting broke out, but I’m sure that happened in my absence,” said Su Yi.

He wasn’t overly emotional about it. That was just how people were, and that was how they'd always been. Those the world revered were not allowed to accumulate the slightest speck of dust. If they did, they’d fall from their altars.

A day later, Su Yi reached the Spirit Domain’s borders, gathered the nine Divine Puppets, and set off. Three days later, the Seventh Gate of Heaven came into view.

When Su Yi flew in on the Sky-Covering Boat, a clamor of excited, joyous cries arose on the garrison walls.

Pei Hongjing, Madam Xiangyun, Xie Gu, and the other Immortal Kings went up to greet him. They were nothing but smiles.

“Congratulations on your triumphant return, Sovereign Venerate!”

The crowd bowed in greeting and called out in unison, their voices transmitting into the firmament and echoing throughout the nine heavens and the ten earths.

“Congratulations on your triumphant return, Sovereign Venerate!”

A month after his departure, Su Yi returned from the Spirit Domain!

When word spread, the world shook.